Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa has today made a contribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) packages that will assist at the Moyale border points.
The PPEs worth Ksh 2.5 million are made up of hydro-alcoholic solutions, hand-washes, surgical masks and examination gloves.
Receiving the PPEs at the Health Ministry headquarters, Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Dr. Rashid Aman said the donations will go long way in ensuring that the personnel working at the Moyale Boarder Point are safe and protected.
The CAS noted that IGAD has continued to support national and regional interventions, especially among cross border mobile populations that include traders, truckers, nomadic pastoralists and refugees.
“On 7 April 2020, the staff of the IGAD Secretariat contributed 100,000 US Dollars to Kenya’s National COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund. Similar amounts were also given to the other IGAD Member States”, he added
The donation came after an Extra-Ordinary Virtual Summit of IGAD Heads of State and Government was held at the end of March and resolved to collectively formulate a comprehensive regional response strategy and task the IGAD Secretariat to develop an accompanying implementation plan to address the COVID-19 pandemic in the region.
The regional leaders had also agreed to establish an IGAD emergency fund for the control and prevention of pandemic diseases, as well as expedite the adoption of a coordinated, whole of government approach to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in IGAD Member States.
Another agreement made was to also strengthen the IGAD regional mechanism for responding to the outbreak of pandemic diseases through increased capacitation of the regional disease surveillance, early warning and response system.
The world has been grappling with the Covid 19 pandemic and as of Sunday 10 May 2020, the EAC region has recorded a total of 4,629 confirmed Covid 19 cases in the eight member states and out of these cases, 2,936 were still active and 1,503 had recovered. The whole region has lost 155 people to COVID-19.
By Wangari Ndirangu
IGAD donates PPEs to assist at Moyale border points
